Flowers left by mourners surround a portrait of Nelson Mandela in the Sandton district of Johannesburg on Dec. 6, 2013.(Photo: Carl De Souza, AFP/Getty Images)

Flags flew at half-staff Friday as South Africa, in deep mourning,
prepared for a week of reflection, prayer and remembrance before Nelson
Mandela is laid to rest in a state funeral next Sunday in the Eastern
Cape village of Qunu.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu led a prayer service in Mandela's memory on Friday at St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange paused trading at 11 a.m. to mark the passing of the anti-apartheid leader and former president.

Hours
after his death, a black SUV-type vehicle containing his flag-draped
coffin pulled away midnight from his home in Johannesburg's leafy
Houghton neighborhood, escorted by military motorcycle outriders, to
take the body to a military morgue in Pretoria, the capital.

South
African President Jacob Zuma said Mandela's body will lie in state at
government buildings in Pretoria from Dec. 11, until the burial in the
village where he grew up.

As the country mourns, heads of states from around the world, including President Obama, made plans to attend the funeral.

South African Airways said it will provide chartered air transport for invited mourners to the funeral in Eastern Cape province.

Zuma also declared Dec. 8 a "national day of prayer and reflection" for South Africans.

"We
call upon all our people to gather in halls, churches, mosques,
temples, synagogues, and in their homes for prayer services and
meditation, reflecting on the life of Madiba and his contribution to our
country and the world," he said.

Mandela, known affectionately as "Madiba," died Thursday at the age of 95.

Deputy
President of the African National Congress Cyril Ramaphosa told crowds
gathered outside Mandela's home in Houghton that they "are invited to
pay your respects at the various places where there will be books of
condolences."

A separate memorial service will be held on
Dec. 10 at the 100,000-seat FNB soccer stadium, also known as Soccer
City, outside Johannesburg.

The respect felt for
Mandela throughout the country was in evidence with the flags at
half-staff in black townships, in upscale mostly white suburbs and in
the country's vast rural grasslands.